Sizing up the 2024 San Francisco 49ers Defense

Let's break it down position by position.

May 10, 2024; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen holds a press conference before the 49ers rookie minicamp at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA. Mandatory Credit: Robert Kupbens-USA TODAY Sports / Robert Kupbens-USA TODAY Sports

The 49ers have had an excellent defense for an incredibly long period -- it's one of the best groups in the NFL. But will it change after all of their departures this offseason? Let's break it down position by position.

Defensive Line

The Niners had plenty of offseason departures on the D-Line that look terrible to lose on paper, Arik Armstead, Chase Young, and Randy Gregory being the standouts. But how much will that affect this team? My guess, not much. Although those are massive names, I expect Leonard Floyd, Maliek Collins and Yetur Gross-Matos to be contributors, with Floyd being a major contributor. Floyd has been an above-9-sack-per-season player for the past 4 years. He is consistently a problem for opposing QBs and I expect an even greater sack number being in this new Niners Defense. Maliek Collins is a consistent Interior lineman who can do damage if not dealt with properly and is a steal for a seventh-rounder which was traded to the Texans. Gross-Matos still hasn’t hit his ceiling yet which leaves a lot to be unknown, but he does have the tools to be a high-caliber player. Expect him to hit that ceiling on the Niners, and if he doesn’t then I’d assume he won’t get much better. And who can forget about the guys who have already contributed, Nick Bosa and Javon Hargrave? At the end of the day, this D-Line will still be exceptional, maybe they won’t be the 2nd best D-Line according to PFF, but if they go down to 5th will it be a big deal? No, it won’t.

Linebackers

What is there not to love about this linebacker core? Fred Warner is the best middle linebacker in the league today, and there isn’t an argument for anyone else. Warner has been dominant since he came into the league, and is only 27. Every year that he plays, this core will be one of the best in the league. He’s that damn good, and if you add a healthy Dre Greenlaw with him no one is better than them. Greenlaw does have some more recovery to his Achilles that needs to be tended to, but if things go well he could be back sooner than expected. If that isn’t good enough to dominate, they have now added some veteran depth in De’Vondre Campbell. Campbell was a First Team All-Pro in 2021 and after an interesting departure in Green Bay, a revamped Campbell can dominate. He’s already meshing into the scheme and system well, now we get to wait and see during the season.

Corners and Safties

And this is where the shortest section will be, and for good reason. Deommodore Lenoir and Charvarius Ward are one of the best cornerback duos in the league, and after seeing Ji'Ayir Brown play excellently in Talanoa Hufanga's absence I can only imagine they’ll be the best Safety duo. Then you add in a battle for the third corner between Isaac Yiadom, Rock Ya-Sin, and Ambry Thomas. This coverage group is loaded with depth and talent from top to bottom, and I’m enthralled to see them dominate.

Defensive Coordinator

I’m a little less enthralled now. Nick Sorensen was hired in 2022 by the Niners as a defensive assistant and moved up in 2023 to defensive pass game specialist and nickels coach. After those two years, he is now getting a big promotion to defensive coordinator. So why Sorensen instead of going for a Mike Vrabel or a Bill Belichick? Could they not provide more change than Sorensen? I think everyone knows that, but this feels like a play from Shanahan. If he did hire Vrabel or Belichick, who knows if it would become a repeat of Steve Wilks -- bad communication, dividing the locker room, calling for cover 0 with 15 seconds left in the half? Ok, maybe not that last one but you get the point. He doesn’t want to hire a new defensive coordinator every year, so put a guy in that will need time. Shanahan couldn’t afford any more tension, so he did what he had to do. He checks all the boxes that Shanahan needs, he understands the scheme, won't change it, has a rapport with players and won’t leave in a year. 

That’s where all of my fears about this defense are -- in the DC. I understand he has experience in Seattle, particularly with coaching the famous Seattle secondary aka The Legion of Boom, but how much was him and how much was Pete Carroll? I’d guess Carroll wore the pants. Now we get to see if Shanahan made the right decision. Sorensen can be the guy but with time. Hopefully, Brandon Staley doesn’t insert himself too much.

I’d hate to see them give up 63 to the Raiders.